1 City remain “a team of two halves”

Steve Watson lamented his players’ inability to put together two complete 45 minutes of football after a third successive game in which the side leading at the interval went on to be outscored by their opponents during the second period. In fact, that has been the case in a third of Watson’s 12 games at the City helm with the home match against Hereford proving a similarly, topsy-turvy encounter as those last three meetings with Guiseley, FC United of Manchester and Boston.

Such inconsistency in that quartet of games has seen the Minstermen lose seven points from the midway point – enough to reduce the current gap to the play-off positions to a massively more bridgeable three especially with seventh-placed Telford the final-day visitors to Bootham Crescent. Only one point, meanwhile, has been gained by a superior second half in that batch of matches during last week’s 3-3 draw at FC United of Manchester.

City have endured a season-long struggle to produce a satisfying 90 minutes of football having only outscored a team in both halves of three of their 37 league games during the victories over Guiseley (4-2), FC United of Manchester (2-0) and Darlington (4-0). In contrast, table-topping Chorley have won both halves in 11 of their fixtures and the Minstermen chief knows he must work hard to instil the kind of winning mentality into his side that demands full focus throughout whole contests.

York Press:

2 Paddy McLaughlin can still pose a goal threat

In his first senior season of football for the Minstermen, during which he turned 21, former Newcastle reserve midfielder McLaughlin plundered an eye-catching ten league goals in the glorious double-Wembley winning campaign. With Scott Kerr and Andre Boucaud happy to sit back and pull the strings behind him, the fresh-faced Irishman revelled in the freedom to attack the final third and get shots away for Gary Mills’ exciting team.

Since his return to North Yorkshire for a second spell, McLaughlin has operated a little deeper, allowing current 21-year-old Scott Burgess to be chiefly tasked with the responsibility of providing energetic forward bursts from the middle of the pitch. But, during the last three contests, there has been a marked contrast in the 90-minute heat map tracking McLaughlin’s movement.

Against Boston, McLaughlin had a great chance to extend City’s 2-0 lead when he got himself into a terrific position only to miss the target with a free shot on goal. Positive charges into the penalty box then saw him force two saves at FC United of Manchester so, when he popped up to convert Burgess’ right-wing cross and gave the visitors a tenth-minute lead at Nethermoor, it didn’t really come as a surprise that he had ended a ten-game wait for his first goal during a second spell at the club.

It was perhaps a little bit of a shock that he netted with a header, although the ex-Northern Ireland under-21 international did point out afterwards that he has nodded in goals at two other clubs in the past. The scarcity of goals from midfield is another issue that needs addressing over the summer with a tally of just eight (Alex Harris 2, Adriano Moke 2, Burgess 1, Lewis Hawkins 1, Simon Heslop 1 and McLaughlin 1) significantly trailing the 13 contributed by defenders (Sean Newton 5, Hamza Bencherif 3, David Ferguson 2, Joe Tait 2 and Kallum Griffiths 1) this term.

Hopefully, if still here, McLaughlin can help lead the way in that respect during 2019/20.

York Press:

3 Every City player is being given a fair crack of the whip by Steve Watson

Joe Tait’s inclusion in the first XI at Guiseley underlined Steve Watson’s commitment towards giving every player he has inherited or recruited an opportunity to prove their worth before the end of the season. Having not been named in eight consecutive squads following his one previous start for Watson – the 4-1 loss at Chorley – Tait might have been one of the few senior professionals at the club who could have argued he had been denied that chance, but his recall, in preference to Hamza Bencherif, was another example of good man-management from the ex-Newcastle and Everton defender.

Of those who are fit, but not currently in the Minstermen’s matchday 16, Josh Law featured in four of Watson’s first five games in charge, Jake Wright played in the same quintet of matches and has been told to be ready for action on his return from a loan spell at Boston and Tom Bradbury was handed three consecutive starts following his arrival from Dundee before it became clear he was struggling to adapt to the physicality and speed of the sixth-tier English game.

Players like Sean Newton and Jon Parkin, previously marginalised by Watson’s predecessor Sam Collins, have also been welcomed back into the fold – the former becoming a mainstay, while the latter has been handed his first starts since September. Such equitable treatment will make this summer’s contract discussions, when Watson looks every player in the eye and decides their future, a little easier.

With the City boss keen to learn about all his players in the most appropriate environment, it can be expected that youngsters Ryan Whitley and Nathan Dyer will be given game time during the team’s final five fixtures too.

York Press:

4 It would be worthwhile seeing Jordan Burrow operate in a two-man strike-force

City’s 17-goal top scorer has failed to net now in eight matches, including the North Riding Senior Cup semi-final at Scarborough, throwing a little scrutiny on his potency, especially with five consecutive games having passed during that sequence without him testing the keeper. But, in truth, former boss Martin Gray probably never brought Burrow to the club with the intention of him being the team’s leading marksman.

The plan back then was to play 4-4-2 football with either Jake Wright, Macaulay Langstaff or Alex Kempster partnering Burrow in an orthodox two-man strike-force. Since Gray’s departure, midfield and defensive concerns and a lack of natural wide players in the squad, have led to both Sam Collins and Steve Watson generally employing Burrow as lone central striker.

Watson, however, has expressed a long-term preference for two up front and Burrow’s 11 assists this season, along with the aerial prominence and hold-up play he displayed at Guiseley, suggest he could still be better utilised as the foil for a more natural goal getter. It would be interesting if Langstaff, Wright and Kempster are now afforded auditions for that role, rather than operating on the flanks in coming games.

York Press:

5 The Minstermen finally have a little resilience on the road

Prior to Steve Watson’s arrival at the club, the Minstermen had lost seven straight away games in National League North and that became eight following a 3-1 defeat at Stockport. But, since that Edgeley Park loss, City have emerged unbeaten from five consecutive road trips following this 1-1 draw.

Nobody needs reminding what happened on the team’s last visit to Nethermoor and problems on the club’s travels have seemed deep-seated with the last season’s side not managing more than three away games on the trot without losing. But, should City beat or hold Chester a week on Saturday, Watson will have equalled the longest sequence of unbeaten away league games in a season since Nigel Worthington was steering the club into the League Two play-offs five years ago, which represents encouraging progress regarding the club’s mental fragility.